30-year blizzard buries city

D.P.S. DIGS OUT IN DAYS-—Jamie Davies, director of the Department of Public Services in Rockford, said some creative handling was needed for the 15 to 17 inches of snow that buried the City of Rockford during heavy winds the evening of Tuesday, February 1 and during Wednesday, February 2. Davies said the City used three outside dump trucks in addition to the City’s own three plow trucks and earth mover to clear Rockford’s roads and parking lots. “We came in about 5 a.m. Friday and plowed all the snow onto Courtland,” he said. Crews spent the morning moving the 1000 yards of snow to the parking lot east of Parkside Elementary. Pictured above is part of the pile of snow on Courtland between Main and Monroe streets with the Corner Bar visible behind. Photo by BETH ALTENA

BURIED IN SNOWBANKS—The Squire staff is thankful to John Venman of Venman’s Landscaping Service who has been plowing the parking lot of the Squire for forever and always does a fantastic job. This year is no exception, and when office manager Kate Sickery made it in to work on 9 a.m. Wednesday morning during the blizzard she found the office parking lot and drive already plowed. Photo by BETH ALTENA

The Squire has been Rockford’s free weekly newspaper since 1871. Our loyal readership includes over fifteen thousand homes in the Rockford area, including the affluent Lakes area of Lake Bella Vista, Bostwick Lake and Silver Lake; Belmont, Blythefield, as well as Algoma, Courtland, Cannon and Plainfield Townships. The Squire is distributed through the U.S. Post Office every Thursday. We also deliver to in-town businesses and homes with paper carriers and news stands in our grocery stores and over thirty local shops.